Thursday, September 5, 2019

The React JS or simply React is one of the best JavaScript libraries for developing front-end or GUI of web applications. Backed by Facebook, React JS, also known as just React is has grown by leaps and bounds in recent years and became the de-facto library for component-based GUI development. Though there are other front-end frameworks like Angular and Vue.js available, what sets React apart from others is maybe the fact that it just focuses on component-based GUI development and doesn't invade on other areas.
For example, Angular is a complete framework and gives you a lot of features out-of-the-box, such as a Dependency Injection, Routing system, Forms handling, HTTP requests, Animations, i18n support, and a robust module system with easy lazy-loading.

So, if you already have libraries to do those stuff or you might not need them altogether than React is a great choice, but learning React is not so easy, especially if you are starting as fresh in web development.

When I started learning React JS this year, I have some background in web development, used HTML, CSS, and JavaScript before and knows a thing or two about front-end development, but I also struggle a lot to learn React JS. In fact, I am still learning it.

When I was doing some research about the right way to learn React JS, I come across this excellent React Developer RoadMap which outlines what is mandatory, what is good to know and what are some extra stuff you can learn as React developer.

This React Developer RoadMap is built by adam-golab, and it outlines the paths that you can take and the libraries that you would want to learn to become a React developer.

So, if you are wondering, what should you learn next as a React developer? Then this roadmap can help you.

Similar to the DevOps RoadMap I have shared earlier, this React JS roadmap is also high on exploring the React, and you can use this to become a better React developer.

But, if you are wondering where to learn those mandatory skills, then don't worry, I have also shared some online courses, both free and paid, which you can take to learn those skills.

The 2019 React Developer Roadmap

Now, let’s go through the RoadMap step by step and find out how you can learn the essential skills to become a React Developer in 2019:

1.Basics

No matter, which framework or library you learn for web development, you must know basics and when I say basics, I mean HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, these three are three pillars of web development.

HTML
It is one of the first pillar and the most important skill for web developers as it provides the structure for a web page. If you want to learn HTML, then you can check out my list of free HTML courses.

CSS
It is the second pillar of web development and used to style web pages so that they look good. If you want to learn CSS, then you can find a couple of free CSS courses on my list of free web development courses.

JavaScript
This is the third pillar of web development and used to make your web pages interactive. It is also the reason behind React framework, hence you should know JavaScript and know it well before attempting to learn React JS. To start with, you can take a look at my list of free JavaScript courses.

Btw, instead of learning these technologies individually, it's better to join a complete web development course like The Web Developer Bootcamp by Colt Steele which will teach you all the essential skills you need to become a web developer.

2. General Development Skills

It doesn't matter whether you are a frontend developer or a backend developer, or even a full-stack software engineer. You must know some general development skills to survive in the programming world, and here is a list of some of them

2.1 Learn GIT
You must absolutely know Git in 2019. Try creating a few repositories on GitHub, share your code with other people, and learn how to download code from Github on your favorite IDE. If you want to learn then Git Complete: The definitive, step-by-step guide to Git is a great course.

If you need more choices and don't mind learning from free resources, then you can also explore my list of free courses to learn Git.

2.2 Know HTTP(S) protocol
If you want to become a web developer, then it's an absolute must to know HTTP and know it well. I am not asking you to read the specification, but you should at least be familiar with standard HTTP request methods like the GET, POST, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, OPTIONS and how HTTP/HTTPS works in general.

2.3. Learn the terminal
Though it's not mandatory for a frontend developer to learn Linux or terminal, I strongly suggest you get familiar with the terminal, configure your shell (bash, zsh, csh), etc. If you want to learn terminal and bash, then I suggest you take a look at this Shell Scripting course on Udemy.

If you need more choices, you can also explore my list of free Linux courses for developers.

2.4. Algorithms and Data Structure
Well, this is again one of the general programming skill which is not necessarily needed for becoming a React developer but absolutely required to become a programmer in the first place.

And if you love books more than courses, here is a list of 10 algorithms books every developer should read.

2.5. Learn Design Patterns
Just like Algorithms and Data Structure, it's not imperative to learn design patterns to become a React Developer, but you will do a world of good to yourself by learning it. Design patterns are tried, and tested solutions of common problem occur in software development.

Knowing them will help you to find a solution which can withstand the test of time. You can read a few books about design patterns to learn them or join a comprehensive course like Design Patterns libraries.

3. Learn React

Now, this is the main deal. You got to learn React and learn it well to become a React developer. The best place to learn React is the official website, but as a beginner, it can be a little bit overwhelming for you.

That's why I suggest you enroll in a couple of courses like Max's React MasterClass or Stephen Grider's React and Redux to learn to React well. Those two are my favorite React courses and also trusted by thousands of web developers.

If you are serious about your React skills, I strongly suggest you look at these courses.

And, if you don't mind learning from free resources, then you can also take a look at this list of free React JS courses.

4. Learn Build Tools

If you want to become a professional React developer, then you should spend some time to get familiar with tools that you will be used as a web developer like built tools, unit testing tools, debugging tools, etc.

To start with, here are some of the build tools mentioned in this roadmap:

Package Managers

npm

yarn

pnpm

Task Runners

npm scripts

gulp

Webpack

Rollup

Parcel

Btw, It's not essential to learn all these tools, just learning npm and webpack should be enough for beginners. Once you have more understanding of web development and React Ecosystem, you can explore other tools.

5. Styling

If you are aiming to become a front-end developer like React developer, then knowing a bit of Styling will not hurt. Even though the RoadMap mentions a lot of stuff like CSS Preprocessors, CSS Frameworks, CSS Architecture, and CSS in JS.

I suggest you to at least learn Bootstrap, the most critical CSS framework you will end up using every now and then.

And, if you want to learn bootstrap, If you're going to go one step ahead, you can also learn Materialize or Material UI.

6. State Management

This is another important area for a React developer to focus upon. The roadmap mention the following concepts and frameworks to master:

Component State/Context API

Redux

Async actions (Side Effects)

Redux Thunk

Redux Better Promise

Redux Saga

Redux Observable

Helpers

Rematch

Reselect

Data persistence

Redux Persist

Redux Phoenix

Redux Form

MobX

If this sounds too much to you, I suggest you to just focus on Redux, it's great, and there is a great course from Stephen Grider to learn Redux framework well.

Both Max's React 16- The Complete Guide and Stephen Grider's Modern React with Redux courses also covers State Management in React and Redux in good detail.

7. Type Checkers

Since JavaScript is not a strongly typed language, you don't have the luxury of a compiler to catch those sneaky type related bug.

As your app grows, you can catch a lot of bugs with type checking, especially if you can use JavaScript extensions like Flow or TypeScript to type-check your whole application.

But even if you don’t use those, React has some built-in type checking abilities and learning them can help you to catch bugs early.

Since Angular also uses TypeScript, I think it's worth to learn TypeScript along with JavaScript, and if you also think so, then you can check out the Ultimate TypeScript course on Udemy.

And, If you need more choices, and don't mind learning from free resources, then you can also check out my list of free TypeScript courses for web developers.

8. Form Helpers
Apart from Type Checkers, it's also good to learn Form Helps like Redux Form, which provides the best way to manage your form state in Redux. Apart from Redux Form, you can also take a look at Formik, Formsy, and Final form.

9. Routing
Components are the heart of React's powerful, declarative programming model, and Routing components are an important part of any application.

10. API Clients

In today's world, you will rarely build an isolated GUI. Instead, there is more chance that you will build something which communicates with other application using APIs like REST and GraphQL. Thankfully, there are many API clients available for React developers, here is a list of them:

REST

Fetch

SuperAgent

Axios

GraphQL

Apollo

Relay

urql

Apollo Client is my favorite and provides an easy way to use GraphQL to build client applications. The client is designed to help you quickly build a UI that fetches data with GraphQL and can be used with any JavaScript front-end.

Btw, if you don't know GraphQL and REST, I suggest you to spend some time learning them. If you need courses, the following are my recommendations:

11. Utility Libraries

These are the libraries which make your work easier. There are many utility libraries available for React developers, as shown below:

Lodash

Moment

classnames

Numeral

RxJS

Ramda

Neither I suggest you learn all these, nor the RoadMap. If you look closely only Lodash, Moment, and Classnames are drawn in yellow, stating that you should start with them.

12. Testing
Now, this is one of the important skill for React Developers which is often overlooked, but if you want to stay ahead from your competition, then you should focus on learning libraries which will help you in testing. Here also, you have libraries for Unit testing, Integration testing, and end-to-end testing.

13. Internationalization
This is another important topic for developing front-end, which is used worldwide. You may need to support the local GUI version for Japan, China, Spain, and other Europian countries.

The RoadMap suggest you learn the following technology, but they are all under good to know:

React Intl

React i18next

Both these library provides React components and an API to format dates, numbers, and strings, including pluralization and handling translations.

14. Server-Side Rendering
You might be thinking what the difference between Server-Side Rendering and Client-Side rendering is, let's clear that before talking about the library which supports Server Side Rendering with React.

Well, In Client-side rendering, your browser downloads a minimal HTML page. It then renders the JavaScript and fills the content into it.

While in the case of Server-side rendering, React components are rendered on the server and output HTML content is delivered to the client or browser.

The RoadMap recommends following Server-Side Rendering:

Next.js

After.js

Rogue

But, I suggest learning just Next.js should be enough, and Thankfully, Max's React 16 - The Complete Guide also covers Next.js basics which should be good enough to start with.

15. Static Site Generator
The Gatsby.js is a modern static site generator. You can use Gatsby to create personalized, logged-in experiences website. They combine your data with JavaScript and create wellformed HTML content.

17. Mobile
This is another area where learning React can really beneficial as React Native is quickly becoming the standard way to develop a mobile application in JavaScript with native look and feel.

The RoadMap suggests you learn the following libraries:

React Native

Cordova/PhoneGap

But, I think, just learning React Native is good enough.

Thankfully, there are some good courses to learn React Native are also available like Stephen Grider's The Complete React Native and Redux Course which will teach you how to build full React Native mobile apps ridiculously fast!

18. Desktop
There also exists some React-based framework to build desktop GUI like React Native Windows, which allows you to build native UWP and WPF apps with React.

The Framework suggests the following libraries:

Proton Native

Electron

React Native Windows

But, they all are for advanced exploring. If you already mastered React, you can take a look at them.

19. Virtual Reality
If you are interested in building Virtual Reality based application, then also you have some framework like React 360, which allows you to be exciting 360 and VR experiences using React. If you are interested in that area, you can further explore React 360.

That's all about The 2019 React RoadMap. It's indeed very comprehensive, but there is a good chance that already knows many of the stuff. Even if you don't know, no need to become afraid or overwhelmed by this roadmap you can start small and then follow along. There are many paths to becoming a React Developer. And if you already know React, you can surely find some more tools and technologies to add to your kitty and become even a better React Developer in 2019.

Closing Notes

Thanks for reading this article so far … Good luck with your React JS journey! It’s certainly not going to be easy, but by following this roadmap and guide, you are one step closer to becoming the React Developer you always wanted to be.

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All the best for your React Journey !!

P.S. - If you don't mind learning from free resources, then you can also check out my list of Free React courses to start your journey.